summary
Zhongqing commented
You might as well have more seriousness and awe, and less banter and jokes.
Human beings inevitably want to age and die, organ failure is a signal that human life is coming to an end, and by transplanting organs from other human bodies or animals, human life can be prolonged. Because of this, the little progress of medical science can give people hope for life. This week, in addition to many social news, the report that American doctors transplanted pig hearts into the human body for the first time attracted the attention of many people.
The person undergoing a transgenic pig heart transplant was a 57-year-old American man. During this time, the researchers observed that the volunteers' urine and creatinine levels were "normal and comparable to those seen in human kidney transplantations," and that no rejection of the body was observed. It is reported that the patient has safely spent the most critical 48 hours after organ transplantation, and plans to remove the external circulation auxiliary equipment, completely supplied by the pig heart.
Image source: Visual China
What do you think of this groundbreaking event? The guangming network's review article pointed out, "How the follow-up effect is, we still need to observe the effect." According to the general requirements, the 5-year survival rate is now a basic criterion for the success of the same organ transplant. If the patient can survive for a period of time, it means that the transplantation of pig hearts or other organs of pigs is feasible, which also clears the way for the future clinical universal use of pig hearts and other organs. ”
In response to this incident, Li Lei, a doctor of biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, expressed his views on the "Zhihu" platform, believing that "this is a meaningful attempt". At the same time, in order to achieve the transplantation of xeno organs, he believes that it is also necessary to solve the problems of "immune rejection", "humanization process" and "organ shortage". The article on the public account of the Chinese Circulation Journal wrote, "In this transgenic pig heart transplantation, there are experiments that prove that pigs are better donors. The anatomy of the pig heart is similar to that of the human heart, and the risk of infectious diseases is low. By modifying the pig's genes, the body's immune system can be allowed to 'stand by and watch' the pig heart. ”
Previously, Science and Technology Daily had reported that in order to transplant the organs of pigs into the human body and make the human body willing to accept this "foreign guest", it was necessary to first solve the problem of rejection of xenotransplantation. Public reports show that 10 genes of the pigs used in the operation have been modified, of which 3 genes will trigger the rejection of the human immune system; in addition, in order to prevent the overgrowth of the pig heart tissue after transplantation, the pig's growth genes have also been inactivated; 6 human genes have been implanted into the pig genome to enhance the tolerance of the pig organ to the human immune system.
In this field, the team led by Pandenko, a biologist in China, has made more positive progress, and for the previous human trials of pig kidney transplantation carried out abroad, he believes that "only the ultra-acute rejection of gene-edited pigs to overcome xenotransplantation is verified, and then there will be some delayed rejection, consumptive thrombosis and other issues that need to be solved, that is, the 'xeno organ transplant dream' comes true, and more exploration and research are needed." ”
In the eyes of the scientific community, the transplantation of pig hearts into the human body requires careful treatment and long-term evaluation. The public showed ridicule of the incident, in this regard, the surging news published an article pointing out that the use of humorous ways to disseminate relevant information can indeed make more people pay attention to such serious scientific issues, for example, some media call this news "the cross-border debut of the 'Eight Precepts'" is quite charming, in line with the context of Internet communication. However, "we must also avoid excessive 'playing tricks' and ridicule, after all, this is a matter involving medical ethics and life saving." Whether it is for patients who have received transplants or pigs who have provided their organs, they may wish to have more seriousness and awe, and less teasing and jokes. ”
In addition, xenotransplantation has never been a purely medical technical issue, and the utilitarian utilitarian utility of prolonging life cannot override ethical conflicts. People put animals and people together to make up paragraphs and play with stems, but also reflect a realistic question: when xeno organ transplantation becomes a reality, will it challenge the unified personality of humans? Although the scarcity of human organs is different, will the maturity of xenotransplantation technology infringe on animal welfare? At the same time, how can the principle of equal and fair organ distribution be reformulated so that everyone's life is respected? Some studies also believe that xenotransplantation may allow viruses to invade humans, and genetic variations may lead to racial degradation. This has to face another dilemma: if technology only prolongs human life, but may deprive people of the quality of life, is this still what we want?
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Written by Bai Yipeng
Editor/Ren Guanqing
Produced by China Youth Daily and China Youth Network